King George V School (KGV, pronounced "K-G-Five") is a coeducational international secondary independent school of the English Schools Foundation (ESF), located in Ho Man Tin, Hong Kong. The school has more than 1,900 students and is one of the oldest schools in Hong Kong. Students take IGCSEs/GCSEs followed by the International Baccalaureate Diploma or the British BTEC programme. There is a Learning Enhancement Centre (LEC) for students with learning difficulties. The campus has an area of 10.2 acres (4.1 ha). The school is one of three ESF secondary schools in Kowloon and the New Territories, the others being Sha Tin College and Renaissance College.
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History
Pre-WWII period
KGV is the oldest of all schools in the English Schools Foundation, as well as the oldest international school in Hong Kong. It first opened in 1894 on Nathan Road, and originally catered for the children of British people living in Kowloon. At the time, the school occupied just one small building. It was destroyed in a typhoon in 1896, and Kowloon College opened in its place in 1902. A major opening ceremony took place and was attended by many of Hong Kong's elite, including Major General Gascoigne, the Apostolic Vicar of the territory's diocese Louis Piazzoli, and the Colonial Secretary J.H. Stewart Lockhart. The school was built using donations from Hong Kong businessman Sir Robert Hotung. The school was subsequently renamed the Kowloon British School, then the Central British School, and later King George V School.
By 1930, the number of students in the school had grown to 300. Wooden huts were built at the back of the school to create extra classrooms. The playground was only 7 m2 (75 sq ft). The then-headmaster, Mr. Nightingale, asked for and acquired a new and bigger school site, designed by teacher Thomas Rowell. Classes at the new site began on 14 September 1936. The first headmaster of KGV was Reverend Upsdell, and the foundation stone for the new building was laid by Sir William Peel, the governor of Hong Kong at the time. The building has subsequently been named the Peel Block in his honor.
Sino-Japanese War
In 1937, the Japanese invaded China and many women and children were evacuated from Shanghai to Hong Kong. They needed a place to stay, and the school was used as a refugee camp. However, as the Japanese neared Hong Kong, the government ordered the evacuation of most women and children from Hong Kong. Thereafter, the school was used by British forces as a hospital. When Hong Kong surrendered in the Battle of Hong Kong, the school site was taken over by the Japanese and used as a hospital for prisoners of war.
Post-WWII period
After the war, the school reopened in 1946, and in 1947 the school opened its doors to students of all nationalities. In 1948, the school's name was officially changed to King George V School.
In 1979, principal Angela Smith decided that KGV should join the English Schools Foundation, and the transfer was complete by 1981. KGV is currently the oldest active school in the ESF.
Additional Information
In 2009, musician Mika visited King George V School. He viewed the artwork based on his music (created by Advanced Diploma students) and helped finish a mural on the B-block wall, painting "I am not what you think I am / I am made of gold." He followed by performing Grace Kelly for the students.
A truncated body of a Spitfire aircraft was placed in a classroom of the school up until the 1950s. It was stored in the basement of the pavilion, until the Air Commodore had it removed, restored and later placed it at the Cenotaph in Central for Remembrance Day.
Students and the house system
There are more than 1,850 students of around 28 different nationalities enrolled in the school. Students are accepted from many ESF feeder primary schools in the English Schools Foundation such as Kowloon Junior School, Clear Water Bay School and Beacon Hill School.
KGV, like many British schools, has a house system with four colours. This system is used in intra-school events and competitions.
Curriculum
The curriculum adopted by KGV, as an international school, is different from the DSE examination system used in local schools.
IGCSE
In Years 10 and 11, all students follow a course leading to iGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) examinations in their chosen subjects. Some subjects are compulsory, but there is a choice to suit the aptitude and interest of students. All students are required to study the core subjects of English, Mathematics, Science (split into Biology, Chemistry and Physics as Single Award and Double Award), PE, and PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education). Students must choose four further subjects by choosing one of the subjects from each of the boxes. Students cannot choose more than one Design & Technology subject, choose more than one European language, or study both Business and Economics.
IB Diploma
Starting from September 2007, KGV replaced the existing British A-Level Program with the International Baccalaureate diploma, offering the Diploma Programme. All students have to complete the core syllabus, consisting of an Extended Essay, Theory of Knowledge and Creativity, Activity, Service, as well as six subjects, wherein subjects in First Language, Second Language, Individuals and Societies, Science and Mathematics are required. Artistic or creative subjects are also offered, though these are optional.
BTEC
From September 2011 the school replaced the A-Level Programme (which was an option for students who did not want to take IB) with the BTEC International Diploma, a vocational course.
Sports
The school has an official size AstroTurf playing field for football and rugby. In 2008 and 2009, KGV were back-to-back winners of the Bauhinia Bowl, becoming the best co-educational sporting school in Hong Kong for the academic year.
Rugby
During the 2007/08 school year, the A-Grade boys' rugby team won the 15s, 10s and 7s rugby tournament. The women's team includes many Hong Kong Bauhinia U16 rugby representatives, as well as players for the Hong Kong U18 Development and U18 Nationals. In 2013 the women's team won the cup against the Hong Kong Standard Charter Select team in the first Bill Williams 7s tournament with a women's section.
Football
The school often takes part in the Jing Ying Inter-School Football Tournament.
Basketball
The season of 2011–2012, KGV A-grade boys' basketball team had won the HKSSF Division 3 basketball championship, it was first time for KGV basketball to win a championship. In the 2023-24 season, the B-Grade boys' basketball team also won the ISSFHK Silver Division 2 championship.
Swimming
The girls and boys swimming teams compete separately in the annual Hong Kong Schools Sports Foundation (HKSSF) interschool competition, with the girls team achieving a promotion to the Division 1 competition in 2018 and the boys team continuing to perform strongly in Division 2. KGV has produced many swimmers who have won podium places in their events at the HKSSF swimming competitions. KGV swimmers regularly represent the English Schools Foundation at the annual Wheelock Swim for Millions charity race organised by the community chest. 2015 marked KGV's best showing in the competition with the boys opens team winning the school relay and the overall competition while the staff team came third in the corporate relay.
Facilities
School Field
KGV's artificially turfed field is ESF's multipurpose sports facility. It has markings for various sports, such as rugby, football (soccer), hockey, and also has a long & triple jump track running the perimeter of the field. The field itself is 100 metres long, and is flanked on its school side by a 100-metre-long sprint track and seating facilities for students.
The field was reopened on 29 April 2014 after a HK$34 million renovation. On the opening day, 575 students broke the Guinness World Record of 'Most Participants in a Beep Test', previously held by a college in Australia. This is the second world record broken by the school, the other being 'Most People Planking Simultaneously' with 1,549 students on 16 December 2011. In 2014, the field was rebuilt and to celebrate, the school went for the world record of Most People Participating in the Multi-Stage Fitness Test. A then-record of 575 beep test participants out of the 587 participants who started successfully completed the required number of intervals. This record was ratified by the Guinness World Records until it was broken by AFC Harrogate in 2017.
Notable alumni
See also Category:Alumni of King George V School, Hong Kong
Kemal Bokhary – former Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal
Martin Booth – novelist and poet
Tim Bredbury – professional footballer. Former clubs include Liverpool, Seiko, South China A.A., Sydney Olympic, Selangor and the Hong Kong National Team.
Loletta Chu – the winner of 1977 Miss Hong Kong Pageant.
Victor Fung — GBS – Chairman of the Airport Authority Hong Kong, Li & Fung Group, the Hong Kong-Japan Business Co-operation Committee and Co-Chair of the Evian Group.
Adderly Fong - Canadian-Hong Kong racing driver.
Kim Gordon – American musician, songwriter, and visual artist.
Michael Hutchence – lead singer of Australian band INXS.
Toby Leung — singer and actress
Shiga Lin – Cantopop singer and actress
Jaimes McKee – Hong Kong football player.
David Millar – professional cyclist on the Garmin-Chipotle Team & Tour de France Stage Winner
Anthony Mosse - Hong Kong born New Zealand swimmer. Attended KGV until age 14.
Anders Nelsson – singer, songwriter, music producer, and director of music company.